Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Has $12.33 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 35.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,460 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 13,555 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,197,043.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total value of $1,029,156.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 357,574 shares of company stock worth $185,587,773. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2 %

META stock opened at $524.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $544.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $505.13 and a 200-day moving average of $495.37. The company has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.